Tarzan’s Peril (1951)

Escaped convicts are selling weapons to a warlike native tribe.

Director: Byron Haskin
Cast: Lex Barker, Virginia Huston, George Macready, Douglas Fowley, Glenn Anders, Alan Napier, Edward Ashley, Dorothy Dandridge, Walter Kingsford, Frederick O'Neal, Evelyn Pope Burwell, Buster Cooke, Frances Driver, Joel Fluellen, Jamel Frazier, Wesley Gale, Chester Jones, Lawrence LaMarr, Bruce Lester, Stanley Logan, Juanita Moore, James Moultrie, Davis Roberts, Maxie Thrower, William Washington, Martin Wilkins, Jack Williams, Milton Wood

In the jungles of British East Africa, the coronation of Melmendi, the queen of the Ashuba tribe, is observed by commissioner Peters, who is about to retire, and his replacement, Connors. As the ceremony concludes, Peters tells Connors about Bulam, the brutal chieftain of the neighboring Yorango tribe, whose marriage proposal Melmendi has just rejected. Noting that he has always kept gin and guns away from the natives, Peters then warns Connors about outsiders selling arms to the villagers and fomenting unrest. Unknown to Peters, Radijeck, a ruthless "slaver," has just escaped from prison and, with his cohorts, Andrews and Herbert Trask, is bringing in a load of illegal rifles to the area. Meanwhile, in a nearby section of jungle, wild man Tarzan learns about Radijeck's escape and, accompanied by his chimpanzee companion Cheetah, races to inform Peters. Later, at his treehouse, a worried Tarzan tells his wife Jane the news about Radijeck, whom Jane unwittingly nursed back to health years before. Tarzan and Jane then discover that the mischievous Cheetah appropriated Peters' confidential notebook, and all three set out the next day for Peters' office in Randini. At the same time, Peters and Connors intercept one of Radijeck's porters in the jungle and become suspicious. To avoid detection, Radijeck orders Trask to impersonate a missionary and claim the porters are carrying Bibles. The ploy fails, however, and to Andrews' and Trask's horror, Radijeck guns down the commissioners. After Radijeck forces Andrews to take Peters' pocket watch, he and a now-wary Andrews and Trask resume their trek. Later, while climbing a steep cliff, Radijeck deliberately drops a boulder on Andrews, breaking his leg. Radijeck and Trask leave Andrews to die, but Andrews crawls into the nearby river and, while grasping some fallen branches, is carried along by the current. Tarzan, Jane and Cheetah, who are traveling by canoe, spot Andrews just as some crocodiles are about to attack him, and Tarzan swims to Andrews' rescue. Tarzan pulls the unconscious Andrews to shore, where Cheetah discovers Peters' watch, an object with which the chimp has long been fascinated. Recognizing the watch, Tarzan and Jane go to see the governor in Randini, after delivering Andrews to the doctor. Although the governor expresses little concern about Peters and Connors' absence, Tarzan is uneasy and decides to investigate. Radijeck and Trask, meanwhile, arrive at the Yorango village and negotiate a deal with Bulam, exchanging guns for gems. Nearby, surrounded by hyenas and buzzards, Tarzan finds Peters' bullet-riddled helmet and deduces his fate. From a tree top, Tarzan then spots Bulam and Radijeck passing by and, swinging from vine to vine, beats them to the safari camp where Trask and some Yorango men are guarding the rifles. Tarzan overwhelms Trask and the guards, but is soon trapped and knocked out by Radijeck. Radijeck and Trask throw the unconscious Tarzan in the river and, after seeing him go over a waterfall while clinging to some branches, conclude he is dead. After receiving their payment, Radijeck and Trask part ways with Bulam, taking a few natives with them as guides. Bulam's armed warriors then attack Melmendi's village, easily overpowering them. Meanwhile, having been washed ashore, Tarzan revives, but must immediately free himself and a baby elephant from a giant, voracious plant. With Cheetah, Tarzan rushes toward Melmendi's village and attacks a spear-wielding Yorango warrior who is chasing an Ashuba boy named Nessi. After instructing Nessi to sneak back to his village and free the bound Ashuba tribesmen while Bulam's men are sleeping, Tarzan rescues the heavily guarded Melmendi. Soon, most of the Ashubas are freed and, seizing the rifles, battle Bulam's warriors. Once the Yorangos are driven from the village, Tarzan vows to capture Radijeck. Radijeck and Trask, meanwhile, wake up to discover their guides have deserted them, and when Trask panics, Radijeck kills him. An exhausted Radijeck eventually finds Jane in the treehouse and tries to force her to help him. When Tarzan suddenly appears, Radijeck grabs Jane and holds her at gunpoint. Radijeck then empties his gun shooting at Tarzan, who is swinging from tree to tree. Unharmed, Tarzan swoops down and knocks Radijeck off the treehouse, killing him. Tarzan and a relieved Jane then embrace, while Cheetah swallows Peters' watch and belches

IMDb

TARZAN'S PERIL (RKO Radio, 1951) directed by Byron Haskin, the third of five installments starring Lex Barker as Edgar Rice Burrough's most celebrated jungle hero, is, by far, the most prestigious project to date. An improvement over the previous two entries, thanks to some authentic location filming in Africa where much of the Tarzan stories takes place, and the casting of George Macready as the most sinister villain thus far, ranking this possibly the best in the Barker series. Aside from location sequences mixed with the studio jungle sets, TARZAN'S PERIL was reportedly intended to become the first in the series to be lensed in color, something that never happened, at least for now anyway.

Rather than the traditional opening focusing on Tarzan, Jane and/ or Cheta's daily activities, which turns up 16 plus minutes into the story, TARZAN'S PERIL opens with a native celebration in British East Africa as Melmendi (Dorothy Dandridge) is made queen of the Ashuba tribe. Commissioner Peters (Alan Napier), about to retire after thirty years of service, witnesses the event with his soon-to-be replacement, Connors (Edward Ashley). King Bulam (Frederick O'Neal), a brutal chief of the Yorango tribe, comes to propose marriage to Melmendi, but is refused. Later, the pounding of drums brings forth a message that Radijack (George Macready), a ruthless slaver and gunrunner, has escaped prison and somewhere in the jungle. Assisted by Doctor Herbert Trask (Douglas Fowley) and Andrews (Glenn Anders) as his henchmen, Radijack intends on bringing in a load of illegal rifles to the natives. As Peters and Connors approach Trask to inspect their hidden items, Radijack makes his surprise attack by shooting them. During their journey climbing a cliff, Radijack arranges for Andrews to meet with an accident that handicaps him with a broken leg. Being left there to die, Andrews crawls through dangerous territory before grabbing gold onto a log and floating down the river. While canoing with Jane (Virginia Huston), Tarzan (Lex Barker) foresees danger and rescues Andrews from a crocodile attack. Taking the injured hunter to a doctor, Tarzan, having learned from Andrews of the killing of his friend, Peters, and Radijack's evil intentions, Tarzan swings into action to stop Radijack from supplying the Yorango tribe with guns to attack the peaceful Ashuba tribe. By doing so, Tarzan faces some perils of his own almost in the manner of a weekly chaptered serial.

Making every attempt on bettering this long running series to a point of recalling some highly entertaining adventure made famous by Johnny Weissmuller during his days at MGM, the strength to TARZAN'S PERIL rests on well developed screenplay by Samuel Newman and Francis Swann with enough action to hold one's interest. Although routinely made, much of it is presented in the manner with some originality. George Macready, as mentioned earlier, gives a standout performance as the villain. Aside from putting other characters to permanent rest, his intention on doing the same to Tarzan finds the jungle hero subdued by his native followers, only to somewhat finish him off by having him thrown into water rapids to plunge down from a high waterfall. Other dangers faced by Tarzan is one where he's entrapped inside spider-like arms of man-eating plants, a similar situation earlier used in Weissmuller's TARZAN'S DESERT MYSTERY (1943), plus his encounter with a giant poisonous snake that nearly takes Cheta. There's also interesting casting of Dorothy Dandridge as the African tribal queen, shortly before achieving immortality for her leading roles as her Academy Award nomination in CARMEN JONES (20th Century-Fox, 1954), and PORGY AND BESS (Samuel Goldwyn, 1959) opposite Sidney Poitier. As with her screen career, Dandridge's role comes short yet essential to the plot.

The weakness to TARZAN'S PERIL once again falls upon the Jane character, this time enacted by the blondish but average acting Virginia Huston. Aside from her short 1950s style haircut and noticeable facial makeup in the Virginia Mayo mode, her Jane character isn't dressed in traditional jungle dress tog but white animal skins resembling that of an Esther Williams bathing suit. Unlike previous efforts where Jane takes part in Tarzan's adventures, this time Tarzan says, "Jane, go home," leaving Tarzan to fulfill his mission alone with Cheta, his chimpanzee, along for the ride. Jane, being off screen for a long stretch, does reappear, doing housework in her tree house before being face to face with a deadly visitor.

While no masterpiece, TARZAN'S PERIL comes close to becoming 79 minutes of non-stop action, making whatever weaknesses that take place to be overlooked or forgiven. Never distributed to video cassette, TARZAN'S PERIL, formerly broadcast on American Movie Classics prior to 2000, and finally Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere: July 16, 2011), has become available on DVD through Turner Home Entertainment. With more "Tarzan" adventures in the horizon, and the slow faze out of Jane before the end of the decade, the next installment in the series is TARZAN'S SAVAGE FURY (1952).

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